The Grattan Riggs' Company.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 28 January 1892, Page 2

The Grattan Riggs' Company.

We remind our readers that tomorrow evening tha Grattan Riggs Company open for a season of two nights at the Public Hall To-morrow evening the Irish Drama, " Arrah-na-Pogue " will be presented, and on Saturday evening " The Irish Detective " in which Mr Grattan Riggs represents seven characters. A contemporary gives, the following resume of the piece :-=— Some years since there were several mysterious murders in New York, and the efforts of the police were fruitless until the services of an unusually astute detective were called in, and as a result the perpetrator for the crimes was brought to justice, In the play, which Mr Riggs has rendered famous throughout America and Australia, there is a strong domestic story, together with a love interest. A young clerk in a merchant's office is unjustly arrested and accused on the charge of murder, but under circumstances which point conclusively to his guilt. It is a case of circumstantial evidence. Thanks to the ingenuity of Arthur Tracey, an Irish detective, the crime is eventually brought home to the real criminal, but not before many exciting scenes and incidents are witnessed. The earlier portion of the first act is mainly preparatory. The groundwork of the plot is clearly laid down in it, so that there is no difficulty in subsequently following the story. The plot is distinctly good, and the story is always interesting, but the main feature in the play is, naturally enough, the detective, who is disguised in turns as a north-country Irishman, a German glazier, a Negro soup merohant, and Irish applewoman, a Chinese pie vendor, and finally a blood thirsty Italian. Mr Riggs has invariably received unqualified praise for his delineations of these characters, There are various other parts in the pieoe which, however, appeal to the audience, for Mr Riggs, unlike the majority of comedians, is not afraid to let his brother aotors have a chance to show their mettle. The various scenes of the three acts pass in around New York,

The opening night the Company perform Bouoioault's ever fresh and favourite Irish Drama, Arrah-na-Pogue, and where ever they have appeared in it they have won golden honours. At New Plymouth, on Monday last, it was staged by them, and the Herald speaks of them in glowing terms, and says :— " The piece was splendidly mounted and dressed, and the performance in a histrionic sense was a decided success. The plot of the piece is a reflex of the life of an Irish peasant in the revolutionary days, depicting, as it does, his joys and trials. Mr Riggs gave a very: faithful portrayal of the character Shaun the Post. His acting, whether emotional or comic, was never overstrained; and his brogue was as like the real native's as one could wish to have it. The hero; the outlaw Beamish McCoul, was played by Mr Inman in a clever, manner. The part of Colonel O'Grady, whose affection for tbo peasant places him sometimes in rather awkward predicaments with respeict to his duty, was cleverly impersonated by Mr West, whose imitation of the brogue was excellent. Miss Maud Appleton met with a most enthusiastic reception lor her impersonation Arrah-ria-Pogue. Her acting, was graceful and natural, and her enunciation of the brogue was as clear and. true to the original as one could i wish to get it. The parfc ■of Katty Walsh was. ably filled by Miss Cynthia: Carey, who, in the seoond? act, was warmly applauded for her rendering of v The Wearing of the Green.". . »